browser life

rants, raves, laughs and a dedication to awareness about chronic illness and having a life despite it

Monday, February 16, 2004

My grandma is 85...

Went to the Alzheimer's facility yesterday where my grandmother is....the family got together to celebrate her birthday. Dan stayed home....my grandmother's dementia always makes him sad, and he's had enough sadness the past few weeks. I was NOT in good shape myself after a night of violent muscle cramps, but I managed to totter around some and finish up the roll of film that I had started at Christmas. Grandma had some trouble at first....she'd jump up and ask questions I couldn't quite hear, but I would tell her that she didn't need to go anywhere, and she'd relax, slump over for a few seconds and then repeat the process. This went on for about 20 minutes. She seemed better after we lit the candles on the cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. In addition to the cake and pie, there was some fresh fruit available, so I had some of that. When we took Grandma back up to the floor where her room was, there was a woman in the living area with a doll in one hand and one of her shoes in the other, dancing. It was kind of sweet though because she looked so happy. In the kitchen, there was a man reading poetry aloud. I recognized everything he read: Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Robert Burns. Grandma's cat came out of her room and greeted us. Then a lady I'd never seen before walked right up to me like she knew me, put her arm around me and gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek. She looked so thrilled to see me that I just thanked her for the sweet gesture. Before I left, I went to the lobby to pet the greyhound that is the facility's mascot. Very gentle creature. A most unusual afternoon.